Musings from an overworked translator

What a week it has been, what a rare mood I’m in… July 30, 2009

This has been one of the craziest weeks I’ve had in a long time – and it is just about to ramp up to absolute craziness! Last Thursday one of my clients asked if I would help translate a huge legal project. The original due date was Monday, but when I discovered that the first file alone contained a little over 5,000 words the client was able to negotiate a longer due date with their client. The final word count for my part alone ended up being 21,529 words. I am putting some final touches on the fourth file before delivering it and calling it a week. I also had one of my oldest clients ask me to translate another legal document in the meantime and was able to get the deadline extended for today as well, hoping I would be able to fit it in. I wasn’t, but I was able to subcontract it to a very capable colleague. I proofread the file and made just a few minor changes and delivered that file last night. I was under a lot of pressure (most of it self-inflicted), because I absolutely need to have everything finished and off my desk today.

The reason I needed to finish today and will not be in the office tomorrow is that I will be walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day in Cleveland starting tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. I am walking in memory of my grandmother, Catherine Galbavy who died of breast cancer while I was still living in Bonn, and in honor of my high school friend Tisha and next-door neighbor Vicki – and all the other women and men in the world who have been or will be diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been training for this since March, and these long walks have really taken a huge chunk out of my days and weekends. But it is a labor of love. I have raised $3215 in donations so far. My donors have been generous and very supportive, and I thank them all very much. It really means a lot to me that you care enough to support me. I dream of a day when breast cancer no longer brings terror to the person hearing the diagnosis. I hope by playing a small role I can ensure that neither of my nieces will ever be diagnosed in their lifetimes.

We will be walking 22 miles on Friday, 21 miles on Saturday and 17 miles on Sunday. We will be sleeping in tents on Friday and Saturday nights, going to bed at 9 p.m. or so and getting up at the crack of dawn. We have been blessed with cooler-than-normal temperatures this summer, and I am sending out all kinds of good thoughts so that it does not rain (rain = wet shoes = blisters = agony)!!! The forecasts are saying it will be in the high 70s and low 80s over the weekend with a 30% chance of rain on Friday and Sunday. Please keep your fingers crossed and Daumen drückt for us!

So please forgive me for not having a TGIF video tomorrow. I will be posting my photos and musings on the Walk when I get back on Sunday – or Monday if I am feeling up to it. I have a two hour massage scheduled for Monday and am looking forward to a bubble bath on Sunday night. I will officially be back in the office on Tuesday.